Backlash from Edwards firing

With the tally of e-mails to National Public Radio objecting to the public broadcaster’s reassignment of longtime “Morning Edition” anchor Bob Edwards now upwards of 23,000, NPR launched a two-pronged damage control campaign this week.

NPR-affiliated stations -- including Pasadena-based KPCC-FM (89.3), which ends its spring fundraising drive today -- sent their members a plea from Edwards to continue contributing. The e-mail to listeners said that when Edwards learned some people were withholding contributions to member stations because of what NPR did to him, he responded, “That is the wrong way to go. [NPR and its affiliate stations are] still the best news source in radio and one of the best in all of journalism.”

Separately, NPR’s senior vice president for programming, Jay Kernis, sent an open letter to the thousands of people who’d written to the network to complain. In his letter, dated April 1, he confirmed that NPR is hoping to institute a dual anchor setup for “Morning Edition” and reiterated that despite the volley of complaints, NPR would not change its mind about Edwards.

“In the end, this is about our broad commitment to delivering the kind of high-quality in-depth coverage that makes our reporting remarkable,” Kernis’ letter said. “We do not plan to deviate from that commitment.”

However, Kernis said he would conduct a live online Web chat with listeners at 10 a.m. PDT Monday, at www.npr.org/morningeditionchat.

Jonathan Taylor